'Summer' At Last

We're being given a taste of the summer we didn't have this year, with cloudless skies, light winds and temperatures warm enough to bring all the insects out. Of the butterflies, the species in largest numbers is still the peacock, with four in the garden this morning, this one enjoying one of our three verbenas but....

....by far the most popular plants are the michaelmas daisies, of which, again, we have three. This is the favourite plant of....

....the lone red admiral despite it being given a hard time by the buzzing mass of....

....insects - bees and hover flies in particular. I don't think I've every seen such a crowded plant, which may be why....

....the speckled wood - an unexpected visitor - preferred to feed on the marigolds.

Although it's good to see some butterflies their numbers continue to be depressingly low. We've done our best to encourage them by planting verbena, michaelmas daisies, buddleia, lupins and caryopteris, and by preserving some of the weeds which are so important in their life cycles, such as the nettles on which the peacock's caterpillars feed, but there are too many other things making their lives difficult, particularly habitat loss and pesticides. At least this year's Big Butterfly Count has highlighted the problem by reporting the lowest numbers on record and declaring a 'Butterfly Emergency'.